Ealing Balti House - a Delightful Find Near Home (Ealing Balti House)

Member Name: anonymili

Product:	Ealing Balti House
Date:	05/10/09 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly efficient service, food adjusted to customers taste when necessary

Disadvantages: Not as busy as it could be

Ealing Balti House is a delightful little Indian restaurant located in West Ealing which has been in operation since 1996. West Ealing is in West London and it's not exactly one of the nicer parts of Ealing which is a shame as this restaurant gets easily overlooked when people think about dining in the Ealing area.

My husband and I found this restaurant quite by chance a few years ago as it's walking distance from our home. We were somewhat surprised to notice it as we thought we'd tried out all of the Indian restaurants in the Ealing area over the years. Unfortunately it's not in the best location in Ealing, it's on the main road of the West Ealing shopping area but it's right at the end so it's easily missed as it's opposite the local Kwik Fit and parking is only available on the single yellow lines outside the restaurant or across the road in the evenings after 6.30pm.


GREETING

From the first time we entered Ealing Balti House we were pleasantly surprised by the warm greeting given by the staff. We were asked if had any preference as to where to sit and now we've been quite a few times, we have our favourite table and are asked these days if we'd like our usual table.
We always find the waiting staff to be very polite and friendly, always making the time to ask how we've been, offering to take our coats, etc.


SEATING

Ealing Balti House has seating for approximately 50 diners. The tables are set out for 4 diners so if you go as a couple, there's no cramping you onto a table for 2 which often means there's not enough space to put the food you ordered on! The tables are well spaced out and you don't feel as if people are intruding on your private conversations as customers are not all dumped together in one end of the restaurant for the convenience of the waiting staff as I've noted in many other restaurants.


EATING

The restaurant offers a typical selection of dishes available at many Indian restaurants along with a few house specialities.

A selection of items from the menu below with the prices to give you an idea of how competitive the prices are (when I say competitive; many of the main course dishes are easily £1 or £2 more per dish at other Indian restaurants in the West London area):

*STARTERS*
Sheekh Kebab - £2.95
Chicken or lamb tikka - £3.05
Shami Kebab - £2.95
Prawn puri - £3.25
Prawn cocktail - £2.50

*MAIN*
Tandoori chicken - £5.95 (half), £9.50 (full)
Chicken shashlick - £6.75
Tandoori king prawn - £9.75
Biryani - chicken £6.75, lamb £6.75, king prawn £9.25, vegetable £6.25
Curry or Madras - chicken or lamb £4.95, king prawn £6.75, prawn £5.25
Vindaloo or Dhansak or Bhuna or Rogan Josh or Dupiaza - chicken or lamb £5.25, king prawn £7.25, prawn £5.50
Chotto aloo korma - £4.95 (veg)
Garlic chotto aloo - £4.95 (veg)
Saag aloo - £4.95 (veg)

*HOUSE SPECIALITIES*
Manchuri - chicken or lamb £6.50
Kushboo - chicken or lamb £6.50
Garlic - chicken or lamb £6.50
Methi - chicken or lamb £6.50

*SIDE DISHES*
A large selection of side dishes all priced at £3.10 such as:
garlic potatoes
bhindi bhaji (ladies fingers)
cauliflower bhaji
saag bhaji (spinach)
mushroom bhaji
aloo gobi (potato)
Bombay aloo (potato)

*RICE & BREADS*
Plain rice - £1.75
Pilao rice - £2.10
Mushroom pilao - £3.10
Special pilao - £3.30 (with eggs and peas)
Plain naan - £1.50
Keema naan - £2.20
Tandoori roti - £1.50
Chapati - £0.95

*DESSERTS*
A basic selection of desserts including ice creams, kulfi, etc.


OPINION

I found myself really liking Ealing Balti House from the first time I went to dine there. Being an Indian myself I find that some Indian restaurants make the food a bit too bland for my liking. With Ealing Balti - the first time I ordered a dish there, I found it needed a bit more spicing up and said as much to the waiter who told the owner who was standing at the bar. He came straight over and said he would make it again from scratch. This was done with no fuss whatsoever and I was totally satisfied with the end result. Every time we've been in since, my husband orders certain dishes and asks the waiter to ask the chef to add a bit more ginger and garlic to the biryani (as an example) or I'll ask for the lamb or chicken dish I order to have thicker gravy/sauce and it's always done to perfection without us being made to feel like we're being fussy customers. Most recently when we went, the waiter knew already that my husband would need extra ginger and garlic in his biryani.

I can't choose my favourite dishes from their varied menu but I do love their prawn cocktail starter (not a very Indian dish I know) but the portion size is excellent considering the price. My husband tends to go for the Sheekh or Shami kebab starters and he generally has biryani or fish for his main course, whereas I'm generally very happy with a chicken or lamb Madras or Vindaloo.

I also like the fact that the portions of rice are a decent size and the naan breads are cooked just right; unlike some restaurants that overcook them so the ends become almost like biscuits.

The owner of the restaurant is often present when we visit the restaurant and always takes the time to come over and say hello and welcome us back. There is no service charge added to bills at Ealing Balti House but we're always happy to leave a tip as the service is just so good. We've been offered a free liqueur on the house on several occasions and have often been given a complimentary bottle of wine to take away with us (if the total bill is over £30). You're also given a free bottle of wine for groups of 4 or more. These are the sorts of things that make visiting a restaurant that much more special and of course, it makes you want to go back there.

The toilets are always clean and always have enough soap and toilet paper and hand towels available. The restaurant is also disabled friendly with no steps anywhere so wheelchair access is not a problem. Children are welcome and the music playing in the background is pleasant and just the right volume so as not to disturb your dinner conversation but loud enough to give you that "I'm in an Indian restaurant" vibe!

The bar is always well stocked and the drinks are reasonably priced with the average price for a bottle of wine being about £12. It's also worth mentioning that Ealing Balti House staff are always very happy to provide a jug of water with ice with no charge and with no hassle (some restaurants are not keen to provide water as they just prefer customers to order drinks that they have to pay for).

One of the only problems the restaurant has is its location. It's so far down the Uxbridge Road shopping area that people might not even realise it's there. Also it doesn't open for lunch so it's missing out on potential business during the day when people are out shopping and might fancy a curry (as it's the only Indian restaurant on the actual main shopping road in the area). It's only open from 5.30pm till midnight (delivery orders must be received by 11.30pm). It might be a good thing for me, as a customer, that it doesn't get very busy there as we never have to wait to be seen to or for our food, but as for them as a business, I do worry that they might not stay open for business very much longer if business doesn't pick up for them and that this fabulous little restaurant might not always be around for me to go and enjoy a meal at!

They offer free delivery within 45 minutes for orders over £15 and collection is available within 30 minutes.

We have ordered a takeaway from the restaurant several times over the years too and have always been told how long the delivery should take and never had any issues with the wrong items being delivered, never had items missing or the bill being incorrect.


OVERALL RATING

I'm very happy to give Ealing Balti House a strong 4.5 out of 5 stars. Their website says "Try us once and you'll keep coming back for more." - I have to agree that they were right on the nose with that claim!

If you're in the area and fancy an Indian why not try this out? You can come away with a full tummy and spend less than £15 a head for a very decent meal with a drink!


CONTACT DETAILS

Ealing Balti House
150 The Broadway
West Ealing
London
W13 0TL
http://www.ealingbaltihouse.co.uk
Tel: 020 8810 0320

Summary: Sincerely hope that the recession doesn't mean this place closes down!